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Oil Trains Spilled More Crude Last Year Than In The Previous 38 Years Combined

           

A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment on Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, in Casselton, N.D. (AP Photo/Bruce Crummy) | ASSOCIATED PRESS

huffingtonpost.com - by James Gerken - January 22, 2014

A new analysis of government data shows that more oil was spilled from trains in the U.S. in 2013 than in every year between 1975 and 2012 combined. Railcars released more than 1.15 million gallons of crude oil last year, reports McClatchy's Curtis Tate, while only a combined 800,000 gallons were spilled in the previous 38 years.

The analysis used data from the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and does not include the deadly July 6 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, that released an estimated 1.58 million gallons of oil and killed 47 people.

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Administration Is Seen as Retreating on Environment in Talks on Pacific Trade

nytimes.com - January 15th, 2014 - Coral Davenport

The Obama administration is retreating from previous demands of strong international environmental protections in order to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s strategic shift to Asia, according to documents obtained by WikiLeaks, environmentalists and people close to the contentious trade talks.

The negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would be one of the world’s biggest trade agreements, have exposed deep rifts over environmental policy between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. As it stands now, the documents, viewed by The New York Times, show that the disputes could undo key global environmental protections.

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Environmental groups say Obama needs to address climate change more aggressively

The new pressure from both sides could have an impact on critical permitting decisions on issues ranging from the Keystone XL pipeline to natural gas exports and federal coal leases. Nati Harnik/AP

Image: The new pressure from both sides could have an impact on critical permitting decisions on issues ranging from the Keystone XL pipeline to natural gas exports and federal coal leases. Nati Harnik/AP

washingtonpost.com - January 16th, 2014 - Juliet Eilperin and Lenny Bernstein

A group of the nation’s leading environmental organizations is breaking with the administration over its energy policy, arguing that the White House needs to apply a strict climate test to all of its energy decisions or risk undermining one of the president’s top ­second-term priorities.

The rift — reflected in a letter sent to President Obama by 18 groups, including the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and Earthjustice — signals that the administration is under pressure to confront the fossil-fuel industry or risk losing support from a critical part of its political base during an already difficult election year.

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Judge Rules Exxon Must Face Criminal Charges Over 50,000 Gallon Fracking Waste Spill

Image: Fracking opponents protest before the Tom Corbett inauguration to become the 46th governor of Pennsylvania at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Image: Fracking opponents protest before the Tom Corbett inauguration to become the 46th governor of Pennsylvania at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

thinkprogress.org - January 3rd 2014 - Emily Atkin

Exxon Mobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy will have to face criminal charges for allegedly dumping tens of thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing waste at a Marcellus Shale drilling site in 2010, according to a Pennsylvania judge’s ruling on Thursday.

Following a preliminary hearing, Magisterial District Judge James G. Carn decided that all eight charges against Exxon — including violations of both the state Clean Streams Law and the Solid Waste Management Act — will be “held for court,” meaning there is enough evidence to take the fossil fuel giant to trial over felony offenses.

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The U.S. Is A Gas-Guzzling Horror Show, In 1 Chart

Gas consumption chart, worldwide.Image: International gas consumption chart.

huffingtonpost.com - December 16th, 2013 - Maxwell Strachan

No country in the world knows how to fill 'er up quite like the good old U.S.A., not even the countries that keep gas prices well below market rates. If you need proof, take a look at this chart, via a new report on fuel subsidies by UC Berkeley Business Professor Lucas W. Davis.
The chart graphs gas consumption per person against the average price of a gallon of gas in 128 countries.

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Study links BP oil spill to dolphin deaths

A dolphin is seen swimming through an oil sheen from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off East Grand Terre Island, where the Gulf of Mexico meets Barataria Bay, on the Louisiana coast, July 31, 2010. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

Image: A dolphin is seen swimming through an oil sheen from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off East Grand Terre Island, where the Gulf of Mexico meets Barataria Bay, on the Louisiana coast, July 31, 2010. Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

theguardian.com - December 18th, 2013 - Suzanne Goldenburg

US government scientists have for the first time connected the BP oil disaster to dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, in a study finding direct evidence of toxic exposure.

The study, led by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found lung disease, hormonal abnormalities and other health effects among dolphins in an area heavily oiled during the BP spill.

The diseases found in the dolphins at Barataria Bay in Louisiana – though rare – were consistent with exposure to oil, the scientists said.

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House Panel Advances Plan to Pare Border-Crossing Pipeline Reviews

submitted by Margery Schab

fuelfix.com - by Jennifer A. Dlouhy - November 20, 2013

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee on Wednesday advanced legislation that aims to speed up the government’s review of pipelines and power lines that cross U.S. borders into Mexico and Canada, over the objections of environmentalists and the Obama administration.

Bill supporters, including Democrat Gene Green of Houston and Michigan Republican Fred Upton, said the measure is necessary to put Congress’ stamp on a presidential permit process for border-crossing energy infrastructure projects that has developed from executive orders issued over decades.

The measure effectively would require federal agencies to approve proposed border-crossing energy projects within 120 days unless they are deemed to be against the national security interest of the United States — a lower bar than the public interest threshold generally in place today.

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House Votes to Block Federal Fracking Rules

submitted by Margery Schab

thehill.com - by Pete Kasperowicz - November 20, 2013

The House passed legislation Wednesday evening that would block the Department of the Interior from regulating hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in states that already have their own regulations in place.

Members passed the bill 235-187 with the help of 12 Democrats; two Republicans voted against it.

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govtrack.us - H.R. 2728

rules.house.gov - H.R. 2728

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How the Voters of One Small County May Have Stopped 48 Million Tons of Coal

By , Nov. 6,2013, YES!

Opponents of a plan to ship millions of tons of coal through the Pacific Northwest appear headed for victory in the Whatcom County Council election, after a race that saw more than $1 million in campaign funds pour into the small, rural county race from both environmental and industry groups as well as the candidates' own fundraising efforts.

"The fact that our community couldn't be bought is spectacular."

Coal companies and terminal developers are hoping to ship 48 million tons of coal per year through Washington state via the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point. The Whatcom County Council race emerged as a focal point for opposition to the terminal because the council is in charge of permits for the project, which is currently under environmental review....

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Protesters gather around the world for Million Mask March

Demonstrations in more than 400 cities were planned to coincide with Guy Fawkes Day, with Russell Brand at a London protest.  Russell Brand: we deserve more from our democratic system

Protesters wearing the white-faced Guy Fawkes masks that have become synonymous with the Occupy movement and the hacktivist grouping Anonymous have taken part in hundreds of gatherings around the world in opposition to causes ranging from corruption to fracking.

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